Thursday, April 28, 2011

i wanted to sneak in just one more post... i wanted to share some cards that i made today. lil' man and i had a few hours of arts and crafts. we played with some play doh, he cut some paper with scissors and my tonic cutter, he also learned how to use wood mounted rubber stamps. we even sang along with the songs on the radio. basically, it was a perfect day...

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

i just wanted to let you know that this could possibly be one of my last posts in a while. i'll be in hiatus until our precious new cargo and i are settled at home. my c-section is on friday, 29th of april, at 9 am... i'll be in the hospital for up to 4 days. lil' man will be with my mister's parents - i'm going to miss him while we're at the hospital.

i will post a photo of our newest as soon as i get a chance and share our journey as a family of four with you - and it will be a busy and exciting journey, for sure!

i'll leave you with some cute custom portraits i found on etsy:

custom portraits from thepapermama (thanks to TART for introducing me to her work)

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

two months ago, my OB told us the date of our cesarean section surgery, i didn't realize that it would be on the day of the royal wedding of william and kate! i'm so smitten with these two...

solana's actual due date, may 7th is also another event that's on my list - the pacquio vs. mosley fight - yes, i love boxing. it stems from my childhood memory of watching fights with my dad. it is one of my favorite memories with him.

of course, deep down whether early or on time, there's only one event that would absolutely make our lives, solana's arrival...

well, our hospital bags are packed, her bassinet and nursery prepared, the house smells like ivory snow... all we need now is our baby girl.

a whimsical monogram i painted, and some of the embroidery hoop fabric wall decor i put together for the nursery.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

it is less than one week before i go on maternity leave, and it's putting a spring into my step! by the 15th of april, i am officially off! don't get me wrong, i love work, but i'm super excited to finally be able to focus on what's about to happen, and spend some extra quality time with the lil' man too. of course, to give the grandparents a break from babystitting! i'm going to be on leave for almost a year - i feel privileged to have this time to take care of our lil' man and our newest lil' miss.

i know that having two will be a new challenge for the mister and i, but we are really anticipating the moment we meet solana! i've heard from some, that it'll be an easier transition, that we'll be getting busier, some even told me how hard it is, but i'm trying to be positive and make this experience our own (i'm embracing both the good and the bad - doesn't matter which comes first).

our first time around, i didn't realize how a baby can literally turn your life, home, and emotions upside down. even change the dynamics of the relationships you have with family and friends. i also experienced post-partum depression, which was quite intense for the first two weeks after lil' man's birth (those hormones are potent!). the mister left for work one morning and i remember seeing the home so messy, my c-section incision hurting, and looking down at this crying newborn, and had no idea what to do or which one to deal with first... i never felt so lost in my life (no kidding) a couple of things i learned through this experience are, that all the hard parts pass, and as soon as the extra hormones leave, it's quite enjoyable too.

i was also unprepared to breastfeed the first time around... i saw a lactation consultant last march (i thank my friend, rachel, for introducing me to renee - she's been doing this for 38 years, and is such a breastfeeding advocate - i love her!) and was surprised to find out that some info that were given to us in the beginning (with dom) were not true at all... for example, did you know that the baby's stomach is only the size of a chick pea, not a walnut??? HUGE difference when you are trying to feed the baby at least an ounce of colostrum or milk the first or second day of breastfeeding, besides your milk doesn't even come in until the fourth day. i'm terrified because some of the old feelings of being unable to breastfeed are creeping back in, yet at the same time i'm excited to push through those fears and focus on doing what's best for baby and i... also, if you have any advice, i'd love to hear about it!

one thing we are also looking forward to is the use of cloth diapers. they are so much better than what they used to be. when someone mentioned cloth diapers, back before dom's birth, i nearly cringe at the thought of washing those by myself. the last time i was near a cloth diaper, it was a rectangular piece of cotton fabric, folded several times and was pinned with safety pins (that shows you how long it's been since i've seen one). well, all those feelings changed when i was introduced to the happy nappy diaper service!

not only do they do the washing for you, the diapers are so similar to disposables. after talking to my happy nappy consultant, and reading reviews about the service like amber's on the momma stuff blog, i'm convinced that cloth is the way to go! the inner eco-warrior in me is dying to get out and put a dent on my family's carbon footprint. plus the fact that it works out to be cheaper than buying disposables is a definite plus!

i'm just hoping that our lil'miss stays until the 21st of april to give me a good week of preparation, until we're ready to greet her... i didn't have much of a time "off" the last time LOL.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

hello everyone! i didn't realize that i've been gone since mid-march. i've been on a personal hiatus, aka. nesting LOL. my family of three is preparing for the arrival of our lil' miss, solana. i am currently 35 weeks pregnant, and am scheduled for a c-section on the 29th of april (my actual due date is on may 7th)... i can't believe that so much time has passed, and i only have less than a month to go before our girl makes her appearance.

also, i've been spending some quality time with our lil' man, dom, and also prepping him for solana's arrival. a good friend of ours, nichole, gave me this great advice among others (thank you!):

give lil' man a sense of ownership - that he is a part of this pregnancy as much as mom and dad. this is so great because it really helps with the transition. he really is excited to meet his sister, and he refers to her as "his" baby! i really see a sense of pride when he talks about her. he is also very protective and nurturing towards her. he makes sure that he kisses and hugs "his" baby when he sees me or when i leave to go somewhere.

another thing i found helpful: when he accidentally bumps into my belly, i always refer to it as mommy's belly, never the baby. i do this to prevent any resentment, if there would be any...

going back to nesting, just the other night, i woke up at 4:30 am, and was non-stop cleaning and organizing anything and everything i could get my hands on. i think i managed to sneak in a 45 min nap sometime in the late afternoon - and was up until 11:30 pm. in the past 2 weeks, mister, lil' man (yes, he is quite the helper), and i managed to get solana's room prepared, and finished our spring cleaning! i never experienced this when i was pregnant with lil' man - so this nesting instinct is all new to me. my mister finds it very comical - here i am, very pregnant and attempting to do all these chores.